sententious

[sen-ten-shuhs]

adjective

1. abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims.

   a sententious book.

2. given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.

   Synonyms: moralistic, sanctimonious, didactic, preachy

3. given to or using pithy sayings or maxims.

   a sententious poet.

4. of the nature of a maxim; pithy.

sententious

/ sɛnˈtɛnʃəs /

adjective

1. characterized by or full of aphorisms, terse pithy sayings, or axioms

2. constantly using aphorisms, etc

3. tending to indulge in pompous moralizing

Other Word Forms

• sententiously adverb
• sententiousness noun
• sententiosity noun
• nonsententious adjective
• nonsententiousness noun
• unsententious adjective
• unsententiousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sententious¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin sententiōsus “meaningful, pithy”; sentence, -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of sententious¹

C15: from Latin sententiōsus full of meaning, from sententia; see _sentence

Example Sentences

Audiences have no choice but to exist in the theatrical moment, without recourse to linear logic, sententious language or psychological epiphanies.

From Los Angeles Times

Sometimes, though, he drifts into a more sententious, editorial register.

From Washington Post

Darren — Buck — confronts fragility so finely attuned that even to suggest the existence of racism incites a White backlash of racist attacks cloaked in sententious outrage.

From Washington Post

While Mr. Davis’s music was far from universally acclaimed — the “New Rolling Stone Record Guide” once called it “sententious Muzak” — he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.

From Washington Post

And though Austen is seemingly an odd match for such material, “Austen Years” is full of neat observations and provocative comparisons, folded into the story with a subtlety that keeps Cohen’s sense from getting sententious.

From New York Times